Yesterday at blogband.gov it was announced that I’ve joined the FCC’s National Broadband Plan Task Force. I’m delighted to be helping Blair Levin and his team on this important mission.
The Plan is due for delivery to Congress on February 17, 2010. Everybody working on the Plan takes this date very seriously. The work will continue after this; how long I stay at the FCC after February 17 is anybody’s guess at this point.
Accordingly, (a) this blog will go very light on telecom issues over the next several months, and (b) F2C: Freedom to Connect 2010 will be postponed to a future date to be determined.
elliot says:
a great day for the Internet!
November 11, 2009, 2:30 pmBrett Glass says:
David:I met you at the FCC three weeks ago, wearing an employee badge, and so knew about this before it was widely publicized. Congratulations! However, as a provider of a very smart wireless network, I'd like to ask that you avoid being doctrinaire and resist the temptation to insert any language into the Broadband Plan which slants it toward particular technologies (e.g. fiber) or toward commoditized, "dumb" networks. My customers depend upon the intelligence I design and build into my network to receive high quality, economically priced service; they likewise benefit from the innovative pricing and service plans I am able to create. Last mile providers are also very much in need of "middle mile" services which are not priced anticompetitively and of spectrum that is not in the Part 15 "junk bands" and can be obtained by means other than the FCC's very broken auction process.
November 11, 2009, 6:27 pmkbob says:
This is great news. Congratulations! I know your priorities are in the right place, and hope you have some influence on the team.What's the best way for me, an interested citizen and rural telecommuter without broadband, to keep abreast of the FCC's work?Thanks.
November 11, 2009, 7:09 pmisen says:
kbob,Careful what you wish for!There's plenty of "keeping abreast" to be had at fcc.gov, broadband.gov and openinternet.gov. Talk about rich! Look through the video archives and presentation materials at http://broadband.gov/workshops.htmlLog onto an upcoming Workshop or Commission Meeting — they're all webcast. The real question is how do you deal with the rest of your life while spending 26 hours a day keeping up with all the things going on at the FCC! Give it a try, kbob!!! You might like it.David I
November 11, 2009, 7:33 pmBice C. Wilson, AIA says:
David,I'm torn between already missing your careful work diligently making for a better Commons working from the outside in.At the same time, I could not be more glad to knoiw that your insights will shape this critical new facility our nation is evolving.
November 11, 2009, 8:33 pmJohn says:
Congratulations! I am thrilled for our country…not the least because it would seem that they must know who you are and what you stand for (no shrinking violet you!) and _that_ means that someone up there knows they should want that.Great.
November 12, 2009, 5:02 amPeter Fleck says:
David,Congratulations! This is really excellent news. My hope for ubiquitous, cheap broadband before I die is renewed.Peter
December 8, 2009, 4:44 pmJacob Kuykendall says:
David,
Congratulations. I am pleased that you are now a member of the FCC broadband planning team. As a telecommunications network consultant, I have been beating the spectrum bandwidth drum for the past 15 years. In Time Magazine’s March 11th issue discussing the 10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years, Tim Wu’s article “Bandwidth is the New Black Gold” concludes that “someone will need to figure out a solution to the bandwidth dilemma soon”. I have that solution.
Back when the plans for converting from analog to digital TV were being formulated, I foresaw the day when there would be a critical shortage of bandwidth. I developed a network plan for reducing the total bandwidth requirements for over-the-air TV broadcast to just 120 MHz that would accommodate 20 TV channels nationwide, without interference, and with 100% efficiency (no white space). The remaining bandwidth set aside for TV broadcast could then be re-allocated for other uses generating over an estimated $116 billion for the federal coffers based on past bandwidth sales levels.
I presented the plan to the NBA in 1978, and petitioned the FCC, but was not able to get a positive response due to special interest groups and not technical reasons. Out of frustration and primarily to document and validate the plan, I filed for a patent which was granted on Feb. 29, 2000 – Patent No. 6,031,576. Title – “Method and system for over-the-air broadcast of HDTV and the like with efficient spectrum allocation and broadcast area signal distribution”. The patent included a proposed method for funding the plan’s implementation, at no cost to broadcasters or the taxpayers. In addition, the plan would provide over-the-air broadcasters a means to remain viable by significantly reducing their operating costs while serving a greater geographic market area.
Though the patent was issued ten years ago, before the wireless explosion, the technical and economic basis for implementing the plan is more compelling today than ever.
Jake
March 22, 2010, 5:05 am